Former president Donald Trump said in an interview with Elon Musk on X Spaces on Monday that if reelected, he would like to abolish the Department of Education and give states more authority.
Despite spending “more per kid than any other country in the world,” the 45th president noted that American educational results are falling short of those of other industrialized nations.
“I want education to return to the states and the Department of Education to close.” Trump communicated with the CEO of Tesla and the proprietor of X/Twitter.
According to Trump, granting each state complete authority over its own educational system will result in lower expenses and more healthy competition among the states.
“But if we return education to the 50 [states], some people won’t perform well.” However, the dire circumstances would compel them to do better, he added. However, if you think about it, you’ll have some of these places—I’m willing to wager that you’d have thirty or thirty-five states [where education will be significantly better]. Furthermore, what do you know? It will cost less than half of what Washington would charge. Furthermore, these folks don’t give a damn about the pupils in these distant states.
He said, “It would be unbelievable.”
Musk informed Trump that he was “making a good argument,” and it seemed that he agreed that Americans would be better able to select where to live and where to pursue opportunities if such a policy were in place.
Indeed. Musk stated, “I believe you’re making a reasonable argument in that people would naturally relocate to places where it’s better if each individual state has to compete against other states.”
That’s correct, Trump answered.
Trump has previously demanded the elimination or reduction of the Department of Education. In 2016, he declared that the department could potentially undergo a complete disbandment. Betsy DeVos, the US Secretary of Education under Trump, has also advocated for the Department of Education’s dissolution.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) commended Trump for endorsing the department’s termination and reiterated his demand for the passage of his one-sentence measure, HR899, which would accomplish just that.
“I have reintroduced this measure every Congress, and I have made sure that its designation is always HR 899.” My bill’s one-phrase length appeals to a lot of people. Don’t sugarcoat the truth. Maybe my coworkers will have time to read it,” says Massie.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2024
Finally, Massie said, “[Jackie Carter’s] botched re-election attempt to create the U.S. Department of Education is now our only option—a national school board made up of 4,000 bureaucrats.” “Let’s pass HR 899 to end the Department of Education and empower parents and teachers!”
